This town’s name refers to the river’s heavy water. It is not normal for a town to take its name from the river, rather the contrary, but in this case, due to the dependence of the town on the river, it took its name from it.

José A. Muñoz Sánchez, who is better known as El Cura de Riogordo (the Priest of Riogordo). He owes his fame to his ability to combine his religious obligations with his military ones. He stood out due to his skill and talent against the French troops in 1812.

Legend:

A legend full of religious significance claims that during the transfer of the Statue of Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno (Jesus of Nazareth) from Antequera to Vélez-Málaga, the men carrying it decided to stop for the night in Riogordo. They thought that, being something sacred, the best thing would be to leave the statue that night in the shrine of Saint Sebastian. When they decided to continue on their way the next morning, they found that, to their surprise, it was impossible to lift the statue as something supernatural kept it fixed to the ground. Moving it from the place where it was proved fruitless, even with the help of other men. It was clear that Jesus had shown his wish to stay in this town. As a result of this extraordinary event, the shrine took the name of Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno. From then on there is great devotion to it.

An interesting tradition was practiced in this town when courting. According to the older folk, if a young man liked a young girl and wanted to formalize the relationship ha had to go to her house and, unannounced, sit on a chair. This had to be repeated over three consecutive days. If on the third day the young girl did not come out to meet him then it was understood that either she or her family were not interested in him; on the other hand, if she liked him she went out to meet him, which meant that the relationship had started and they were courting.